Truth
by PhoenixKeir
Summary: You can bend it and twist it... You can misuse and abuse it... But even god cannot change the Truth.
1. Truth

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto, Itachi or anything in this story.

Possibly, I own the plot? I have no idea? Review and let me know!!!! Thanks

Truth

"_You can bend it and twist it... You can misuse and abuse it... But even god cannot change the Truth.__"_

People never knew anything but what they heard. And what they believed. But what did it matter if what they believed was not true?

Itachi Uchiha had perfect reasons why it mattered. No one knew anything about. They knew lies, what they had heard. That he was a prodigy, a genius. A powerful ninja who was great enough, destined, to be hokage.

Destined to do great things. But Itachi was not so sure. He didn't know if he really was a genius. It was their own twisted meanings. He did not want to be a genius. Yeah, he wanted to be a good ninja, but he did not want to be looked at and feared.

They all thought he was something he was not – a monster, a freak, a demon. All because he was good at something. A talent, perhaps?

But everyone disagreed. You should never assume the obvious is true.

The first reaction to truth is hatred.

That was why Sasuke hated him right now. That is why he had told him to hate him and detest him. All for the greater good.

But he learned. Truth was never easy. Lying wasn't always easy, either.

And liars forged ahead with no thought of the consequences. But there were always consequences.

Liars had no idea what they were doing. They made everything up on the spot, looking afraid.

Truth was dark, captivating, consuming, and dim.

Itachi knew this. His life had always been made up of lies. He had no idea what in his life was still actually the truth? Did the truth really set you free?

Itachi was sure on this one.

No. The truth did not always set you free. Sometimes, it did the exact opposite of setting you free. And then it left you wishing you had never said anything in the first place. So, why, then did people say that telling the truth was good? The truth could hurt people just as well as it could help people.

It was not always what they said it was.

The truth was like the sun, it could be blocked temporarily, but it would never go away.

And sometimes, Itachi really wished it would. But when did things ever work out the right way for him?

Itachi was pretty sure that the answer to that was hardly ever.

Practically never. But he did not get too much of a say, did he?

But, as he had learned life moved on.

That was the _truth._


	2. Weak Point

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto, Itachi or anything in this story.

Or perhaps the plot? I am still not sure?

Review and let me know? Thanks!

Truth

Chapter 2 Weak Point

"_Every strong man has a weak point."_

Then there was always the matter of finding out what that weak point was. And that was Itachi's specialty. You needed to be cunning and perceptive to figure out the ups and downs of your opponent. That was something you could not learn. It was something you were born with. Unless of course, you had the Sharingan, it was an exception. Possibly, the Rin'negan or the Byakugan as well. He did not really know.

It was a natural talent for him. He had been able to figure out someone's weakness since a very young age. That was what helped him with Genjutsu. He could manipulate people with their weak point. And he could make Genjutsu's to confuse his opponent or use what he knew as their 'weak point' to control them.

They had no idea. He wasn't a master of Genjutsu just because he could create advanced illusions. It was because he could twist and bend their weakness to control them. It was that simple.

That was one thing. But yet, that was still only one point of how you could figure out the weak point of someone. You could watch someone intently, note how their arms moved, how their eyes shifted, how their legs bent, how their chests moved up and down with each breath.

It was too bad they didn't realize what it truly meant to be powerful. Itachi understood what it meant to be truly powerful, but, he knew that he, himself, was not powerful. He was simply smart.

Outthinking opponents was something he could do.

It was not all that hard.

It seemed that watching things closely had become a habit. And as they said 'old habits die hard.'

Apparently, of course. It was not for sure. He had no idea, though. He had never tried to stop the habit, anyways.

He had lots of weird habits. He squinted quite a bit, he usually had a stoic face on when thinking and when an opponent met up to his expectations or went beyond he actually allowed a smile or smirk or a look of shock to come onto his face. It was an automatic movement. As if instinct or something.

His body moved without him telling it to.

Had he lost control of himself?

Itachi almost smiled at that.

He had lost control of himself years ago.

When his parents had tried to make him something he wasn't.

And Itachi knew exactly what his own _weak point_ was.


	3. Preconceptions

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto or Itachi or basically anything in this story.

Or maybe the plot? Do I own that? I am still waiting for an answer!!

Please Read and Review!!!! Thanks very much!

Truth

Chapter 3 Preconceptions

"_Preconceptions - An opinion or conception formed in advance of adequate knowledge or experience, especially a prejudice or bias."_

People always made guesses on how powerful someone was without actually seeing or knowing what someone could actually do. They didn't know what other people were made of.

They lived in a silly universe where they were convinced they were the best and that no one else could beat them. Weak people with exaggerating imaginations. That's all they were.

People always made preconceptions about Itachi. Just because he was younger than them and because they had heard things about him and had personally come to see if they were actually true.

One of a ninja's biggest mistake is underestimating someone. Usually that meant the end of the ninja.

You should always have a trump card that is not obvious and that you don't use often or when absolutely necessary.

Apparently it was shameful when a fifteen year old lost to a ten year old, but it was not a shame when at the time he was thirteen beat an eighteen year old. Was it him that made a difference? The fact that he was an Uchiha?

Itachi was sure that he had proven himself enough times.

But enough was never enough for them.

Nothing was ever good enough for them, in short.

And Konoha had its sins as well. They gave orders to destroy a clan.

Actually, more specifically, they ordered him to destroy the Uchiha clan, his own clan. His own family. What kind of people would order someone to do that?

But, if he hadn't, _-they hadn't- _then the coup d'état may have triggered a Fourth Great Ninja War.

They had used his own weak point against him. Stupid, manipulative bastards. Especially Danzo.

Itachi had made no preconceptions about Konoha but he had made a mental guess that Konoha would fall.

Either way, preconceptions were misleading and they caused people to mess up or fail.

And Itachi had learned not to make _preconceptions._


	4. Judgement

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto nor do I own Itachi or anything in this story. Maybe the plot? :P

Please Read and also Review!!!!

Truth

Chapter 4 Judgement

"_Judgements prevent us from seeing the good that lies beyond appearances.__"_

People always thought that he had enjoyed the attention, the looks of envy that were sent in direction almost every second. They were wrong. They never knew what they thought they did. They just knew what people had told them _–gossip, as he liked to bitterly say- _and they, of course, believed every single word. It was like they heard something and it was automatically true. They were not very smart. They were single-minded and truly believed that no one would ever lie to them.

Itachi knew differently. He knew that people would lie to him; he knew they would believe whatever he told them, he knew that thought he would never lie to them. They were so stupid….

And Itachi also knew their motives. Except, for each person it was different and Itachi had to find it out by himself every single time. He had no help. And that was how he liked it.

He knew that they were fools to judge.

Judgement was powerful and many people did not realize that. If you judge a book by its cover then you are opening yourself to a whole new world of attacks.

Itachi had stopped judging. He had closed himself off to surprise attacks. He had closed himself off to everything that could happen, well, more like made a strategy to mess them up before they could go on.

It was how we worked. Most opponents weren't very deceitful. They just liked to think that they knew what they were doing. And Itachi was perceptive. He picked up on that. He picked up on how they thought he was nothing but a child and he used that to his advantage.

He knew how people judged him and he quickly turned it around on them. They deserved it for judging him based on his looks.

They deserved it for thinking he was nothing but a dumb child…..

They deserved it for believing he was someone who could be taken out easily….

And as such, they deserved whatever it was that they got.

They judged other people with no idea of what the other person was capable of.

And so, they lay on the floor, in a puddle of blood, due to a simple underestimation.

And Itachi had learned that _judgement_ could mean a lot.


	5. Cold Water

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto or Itachi or anything else that happens to be inside of this story.

**Authors Note!!!** I also need some help from you guys. I need to know how many chapters you guys want me to make for this story. Could you please tell me in reviews? Also for my other story Shiver, which is a sort of side story to this? Thanks!

Truth

Chapter 5 Cold Water

"_It doesn't matter if the __water__ is __cold__ or warm if you're going to have to wade through it anyway__."_

Itachi had felt shocked when he had been told that he had to murder his clan. Actually, he was beyond shock.

His body had suddenly turned numb and his brain stopped working and he had to remind himself to breath.

It was like he was being suffocated, his lungs pushing against his chest, thriving for air and his heart had been pounding loudly and his ears had began to ring.

The feeling was odd and felt slightly off and he had a temporary loss of speech. When he had regained his voice he had asked one question. 'Why?'

They had not actually answered his question at that time. That had replaced his numb senses with a jolting rage of anger that began to furiously pump through his veins in synch with the loud beating of his heart.

He had thought of going off on the elders that were in the room with him but realized that would prove nothing but the fact that he was childish. He was sure that some of the few others in the room had picked up on his bad mood but they wisely chose not to comment on it. Itachi felt as if one comment would make him snap and he was sure that he would do something that he would absolutely regret later on.

That was one of the only times that Itachi had almost lost control of himself. And that was probably the closest he had ever come to losing control.

He had not talked to anyone that day at all.

He had stayed in the forest and began training, throwing kunai with precise aim into targets, punching trees as hard as he could, concentrating his chakra, and thinking.

He had thought about everything, in general. He had been so confused and Itachi nearly smiled at the memory. It had been quiet in the forest until he had come and had began making a ruckus.

He had felt anger like he had never felt that day. He knew that the Uchiha had to be killed. That was not why he was angry.

He was angry because of the fact that they had asked him, him of all people to kill his own family. What were they thinking?

And for the first time in the past few years, Itachi sat with his back against a tree; legs pulled up to his chest, forehead resting against his knees, and cried.

He had gone back to his house later that day, acting cold and emotionless, as if nothing had happened.

The day after the massacre, Itachi felt like he had been scalded by _cold water._


	6. One Last Time

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto or Itachi or anything else in this story. - Please read and review!!

**Authors Note!!!! Please Read!!** - I just wanted to let all of you guys know that there is also a side story to this. It is called Shiver and it is about Sasuke and shows the other side of the Uchiha story in a way. Feel free to check it out!!

This chapter is dedicated to PureWaterLily and SkywardShadow

Truth

Chapter 6 One Last Time

_"The only time you don't fail is the last time you try anything -- and it works."_

Itachi knew that after the massacre, he would miss many things that he would never be able to witness or feel again.

In a way, it made him feel empty. Empty as though he had missed out on an eternity, that he knew nothing of what had gone on after he had left, that he knew that people had grown up and weren't the way that they had used to be. And things wouldn't ever go back to the way that they used to be.

Things had been said and done and there was nothing he could do about it. It left him empty. It seemed odd and he missed things that seemed almost a million miles away. He missed things that seemed to be faintly fading from his memories and thoughts as the years passed. He wished he could go back in time to feel it again, even if only for half a second. It was way better than nothing.

Everytime he thought about his past, it left a bitter feeling that lingered in his mind for more than just a few hours. It was like a scar, it didn't go away but you couldn't particularly feel it.

It was weird.

It was something that he really couldn't desribe, no matter how long he searched for words.

It contained words that were not in his, or anyone elses, vocabulary.

He would not attempt to explain something that wouldn't make sense to people who would never understand something or anything like this. It was awkwards, knowing the things he knew and not being able to say anything to anyone about them. It made an look flicker of something unidentifiable cross his normally passive face.

He still wished that he could feel. His body had turned numb. His hair was as black as his heart. His eyes were as red as the blood that was constantly spilled.

His heart had turned numb and had built a cold, hard exterior that blocked out any unwanted emotions. Except for one. One emotion that he could not stop himself from feeling. The caring feeling that seemed to rise up in his chest everytime someone talked about or mentioned his little brother, Sasuke. It made pride well up deep inside of him. It was a feeling he could not shake off, even after years of putting up a nearly unbreakable wall around himself. It could always get through, not break it down, but get through, squeeze through a crack and drip onto his heart.

It made him feel warm and happy inside. It almost made him want to smile every second of every day.

Itachi wished he could still hear his little brother calling him 'niisan' or 'aniki' or even 'Itachi'.

Itachi wished that he could rid himself of this cold exterior so that he could feel like he used to, even if for only _one last time_.

___

Japanese - English translations

Niisan - Brother

Aniki - Big Brother


	7. Acting

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto nor do I own Itachi and I also don't own anything that is in this story.

Truth

Chapter 7 Acting

"_Life's like a play; it's not the length but the excellence of the __acting__ that matters__."_

Sometimes you are forced to act, to make decisions that you would rather not, and say things that you did not really mean. It was things like these that Itachi had learned to regret. The fact that he said or did things that would follow him until he was buried underneath the Earth's rich soil.

He still wished _–needed, wanted- _that he could go back and change things that he had never wanted to happen.

But this was reality; you didn't get any second chances in reality. Many people found that they really needed _–wished- _that they could go back and have another chance.

Yet, still, despite all of this, Itachi knew that he had been acting for nearly every year he had lived, nearly every breath he took, and nearly all the time his heart had been beating, pumping his cursed blood through his veins.

He knew he was holding onto a cold emotionless mask, as dense as the blood that was spilt through delicate flesh, but it was nothing more than a façade. He knew that there was nothing he could about it, though.

That was one thing he really knew for sure.

He knew it ever since he had turned five years old and entered the academy on his first step to becoming a great shinobi.

If Itachi was asked if he lived up to his own expectations, the answer would be no and it would come so fast that you would think that he was absolutely livid. But he was not angry; he was simply telling the truth. And the truth hurt.

He had learned time after time that the harder you tried to protect someone, the more it would hurt when you actually failed.

He knew that his family, his clan, and his friends would all be looking at him in disdain, _if they were alive,_ that is.

But as they were dead, they were unable to do anything about it.

The phrase 'go to hell' was one that Itachi heard a lot and his mental response was 'I will, soon enough.'

He had known from the moment he began his career as a ninja that in the eyes of his elders he was nothing more than clay, clay that they could mold into whatever they needed.

But they were wrong. They thought he would be easy to manipulate, he turned out to be much more of a challenge than they had originally thought.

He knew that soon enough he would be dead.

There was no sympathy for the dead. And deep down, Itachi knew that he would always be alone at his funeral.

All these things had added up to one thing though, his cold, almost unbreakable mask. Because Itachi knew that everything he did was now part of his act.

And the thing that truly scared Itachi was that his _acting_ was becoming an instinct.


	8. Dreams

**Disclaimer:**I do not own Naruto nor do I own Itachi or anything else that is inside of this story.

Please read and review.

Truth

Chapter 8 Dreams

"_Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe.__"_

Uchiha Itachi had dreams.

He _had_ dreams.

He used to. He guessed he still did, in a way.

He didn't even know what he had now. It sure as hell wasn't dreams. What he had now were nightmares. He couldn't sleep soundly for one minute without seeing something terrible or horrible inside of his head, in his mind, inside of his nightmare.

Dreams were nonexistent now. He had ambitions, yes, but dreams, no. He had stopped having them ages and ages ago. Now everything that he saw seemed to be dark and terrible and scary. Nothing was ever happy and bright for him anymore. It had lost its demeanour.

His nightmares were usually about his family, about the massacre, seeing his brother lying on the ground, dead and bloody. He always had to watch his brother's death. He was like a ghost. He tried to help him or save him but he just went through his little brother. He hated it. He hated the feeling of helplessness and knowing that he was absolutely unable to do anything to help Sasuke at all.

It was painful. Mentally and physically.

It hurt. In more ways than one.

He hated it. It was horrible.

It was knowing what was going to happen and knowing that there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. Knowing that blood was going to be spilled, seeping out through pale flesh and dripping onto the cold, hard cement. He had never given up, though. There wasn't one nightmare where he didn't try. He always tried to save everyone but it never worked out for him. It was sometimes the same, sometimes different but either way it was painful. In more ways than one.

In fact, Itachi couldn't remember the last time he had slept through an entire night. He always awoke to red and black dancing across the backs of his eyelids and bright colors flashing on the side of the tunnel of darkness. Images of blood spilling, red staining everywhere in clear view.

It never went away. He always saw it. And he couldn't stop it. He wished he could stop seeing pain, blood, and destruction but maybe, just maybe, it would come true.

He could always hope.

He could always wish.

He could always try.

He could never stop seeing the looks on his clans face as they fell to the ground into a slippery puddle of blood.

But maybe, just maybe, Itachi had never stopped having _dreams._


	9. Enigma

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto nor do I own Itachi nor do I own anything that does actually happen to be inside of this story.

Truth

Chapter 9 Enigma

"_We shall never resolve the __enigma__ of the relation between the negative foundations of greatness and that greatness itself.__"_

Uchiha Itachi had always been considered an enigma. But the keyword there was 'considered.' Itachi knew he was not an enigma. He was simply a puzzle that they were not able to solve. He had never understood them. If they didn't understand something, they always made it out to be something way different then it always was.

They liked to make things harder than they were.

Uchiha Itachi was not en enigma.

He was simply someone that nobody could seem to understand.

Someone who acted different than most people.

Was that really so great?

So great that they had considered him something far from what he really was.

He had heard all the comments. 'Look at Itachi! He's so great.' And 'What an enigma.' And 'What a genius.' He was not deaf. He could hear them. They seemed to think he was brilliant but yet they whispered and hoped he could not hear them. The irony.

It had become a sad, sad place.

Konoha was not what it had used to be. It used to be a great, powerful place but now it was nothing but a mere pebble in a field full of rocks; nothing special. It would never again prosper the way it once had. Its light had shined out.

Not to get the wrong idea, Itachi still loved Konoha. It just wasn't how he thought it would be. It was horrible.

He could see the image now.

Velvet red splattered across black, cracked concrete and bodies scattered all across the ground, slowly cooling and paling in the cool air that blew through the deserted streets. Blood covered swords lay next to the corpses that now belonged to the dead, and glinting in the low shine of the silver moon.

Itachi shook his head to get rid of the images in his mind that seemed so real. At least it was nothing more than an image. Something he hoped would never happen.

But the fact still was, he missed his home. He missed his family. He missed his brother. Hell, he even missed the smell of Konoha! The cool windy breeze that used to sweep his dark hair across his face and into his eyes.

But he did not miss all the comments that his former comrades used to say behind his back when they thought _–assumed- _that he was not looking or listening.

Everyone thought he was something he wasn't and some people had never seen him at all and they were just going by the words of the others. They were so trusting, so naïve. It almost made him sick how some kids believed everything that was told to them and they took it as a direct fact.

He had never been like that as a child. He had always been suspicious of somebody's intentions even if he knew them very well. Even back then when he was near the age of four, people thought he was a genius. He had been perceptive, he admitted, but he doubted he had been a genius at the age of four.

And he remembered all the days and years in his life that he had spent wondering who he was.

And so he had come to one conclusion throughout all of the years of his life.

He was not an _enigma:,_ he was simply a puzzle that would never be able to be solved.


	10. Resistance

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto, Itachi, Sasuke, or any other thing that does so happen to be inside this story.

Authors Note: Sorry for taking such a long time to update. I have quite a few things going on right now and was unable to find the time to write another chapter and update this story until now. Hope you enjoy it! 

Truth

Chapter 10 Resistance

"_Resistance is thought transformed into __feeling__. Change the thought that creates the resistance, and there is no more resistance.__"_

There had used to be a wall. A wall made of heavy brick and hardened concrete covered in a thick, frosty layer of frozen water.

An ultimate defence, so to speak.

The wall around his heart. The ice that had surrounding his black heart.

His resistance.

Everyone had something surrounding their heart, whether it being darkness or warmth. But his resistance had weakened. Well, not completely weakened. Only one person had managed to make a crack in the wall and go straight to his heart.

_Uchiha Sasuke._

But there wasn't one other person who could make it through. Sasuke had made it through to his heart and then the crack refroze. Cold water pouring into the crack and instantly freezing over once again.

He wondered what Sasuke had surrounding his heart.

Was it an ice wall, like Itachi himself?

Was it warmth that was covered up by an exterior of indifference?

He wondered if the other nuke-nin's missed anybody or had a heart to miss anyone with at all, for that matter. In the end, it made no difference.

He remembered watching many members of Akatsuki come and go.

Orochimaru. He smiled bitterly and almost laughed. He could remember that with crystal clear detail.

Sasori. To be honest, Itachi wondered what to think about how he died.

Deidara. The foolish blond. He remembered the conversation he had with Kisame after Sasuke was said to be killed by Deidara. But Itachi knew that he was still alive.

Sometimes, he wondered how they had come to this point in their lives but it was an unwritten rule not to ask about their past. As for Itachi, most of the other members already knew. The massacre wasn't exactly kept quiet.

He remembered the times he had watched people sacrifice themselves for their family and friends. And he could feel small shock waves of pain run through the left side of his chest and torso. He used to wonder what it was but know he was sure he knew exactly what was going on.

And vaguely, somewhere in the back of his mind, he wondered what it felt like to live a normal life with a normal family.

What has he become now? A monster? How could he do this to himself?

Itachi could visualize a younger version of himself yelling at him.

And he realizes that he is _such_ a fool.

And he knows his time is coming to an end.

He brushed such empty thoughts away with graceful ease.

The thoughts were all meaningless now, anyways.

It was dark out. The clouds had all left with the light of day. Every night, it seemed as though the sun had completely shined out, though Itachi knew as well the next person why it became dark each night.

The sky was ghastly.

The similarities between him and his brother were uncanny. Same dark hair, same eyes, nearly same face, and the exact same love for silence.

But as Itachi stared up at the stars, he thought he preferred the noise at times like these.

Maybe his _resistance_ really was breaking.


	11. Drowning

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto or Sasuke or Itachi or anything that is inside of the story.

Truth

Chapter 11 – Drowning

"_They float upon the surface of the darkness in which I'm __drowning__.__"_

Itachi could remember two nights in crystal clear detail. Two.

The second night was when he had killed his clan. The first, however, wasn't what he had done.

That first night. His best friend died. He was supposed to be at an ANBU meeting. Of course, he didn't show up.

The next morning, some Uchiha clansmen had come to his house and told him to come outside and then he was informed of the death of Uchiha Shisui. Shisui of the Body Flicker.

Of course, Itachi had been shocked. He hadn't done it. He knew what had happened though.

Shisui knew of the Mangekyou Sharingan. He had willingly made himself a sacrifice because there was more than one way to get the Mangekyou Sharingan.

Shisui really had committed suicide but….. If one awakens a deep emotion within an Uchiha, like knowing it was his fault Shisui was dead, Itachi had gained the Mankgekyou Sharingan. In reality, that was the same as killing him.

He remembered that night because he had an eerie feeling all day, which was the reason he had not been at the ANBU meeting. He had felt that way all day.

He knew something was wrong when he went to sleep and nightmares plagued his mind all throughout the night.

That night. He would remember it forever.

Then the second night. The night of the Uchiha massacre.

Despite all of the deaths in the Uchiha massacre, the biggest blow was when Shisui died.

Maybe it was because Shisui's death was unexpected but the massacre, he knew it was coming before it had happened, he had, after all, been the one to do it.

No matter what the reason, it was more traumatizing the first night than it was the second night.

But then again, he had help as well on the night of the massacre.

Uchiha Madara.

No longer worthy of being called the greatest Uchiha to live.

He hoped, after he was dead, after his little brother killed him, Sasuke would finish off Madara as well.

After all, he knew Sasuke would be smart enough to figure out that Madara was, indeed, still alive.

Some things he would always remember, some he would forget.

Some things would change; other would stay the same forever.

And as he stretched his hand out in front of him he could see the front of his hand, the palm and the fingers. Not because he was looking at it but because he had memorised the details. So, as he shut his eyes, he could still see a crystal clear image of his hand.

Because maybe, just maybe, his eyes weren't worth it.

Because maybe, just maybe, Shisui's death was in vain.

And Itachi was tired of chasing after maybe's.

And now that he looks back on it, he finds it ironic that Shisui died from _drowning _because his name meant 'still water' but Itachi disagreed, Shisui was more like a crushing current.

__________________________________________________________________________

**AU:** I know that some of you will probably disagree about how Itachi really did kill Shisui himself and he probably did but I prefer this theory better because given how kind Itachi was, I don't think he would of killed him so early on because I'm pretty sure Itachi only used the Mangekyou on Sasuke during the massacre so he would have done fine without it.

Either way, the Mangekyou is unlocked by a deep emotion so from my point of view, Itachi would feel the same emotion when Shisui killed himself and when he killed Shisui himself because both times when Shisui died, Itachi was the one responsible for it. Even though in one scenario, Itachi really did not kill him but it was his fault.

Thanks for reading this ridiculously long Authors note. Hope you enjoyed the story!

PhoenixKeir


	12. Crushed

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto nor do I own Itachi or Sasuke or anything that is inside of this story.

_Truth_

_Chapter 12 – Crushed_

"_Human beings are so made that the ones who do the crushing feel nothing; it is the person __**crushed**__ who feels what is happening. Unless one has placed oneself on the side of the oppressed, to feel with them, one cannot understand._"

There were some things in the universe that Itachi knew he would never be able to understand. And he had no intentions of spending and wasting his time to search for the answer to make everything make sense. It was pointless.

And every time he heard the word 'pointless' he thought about wars and deaths. When he thought about deaths it brought him back to his family. The massacre was not pointless but, however, it would be unneeded if the clan hadn't planned to rebel. The coup d'état was pointless.

And every time he thought about the coup d'état many things came to mind. The feeling that he got every time he killed a clan member, the tiny shocking tingly feeling that shot through you after you knew something bad happened like when you tipped over a glass vase and you knew it was going to smash. Itachi wondered if it was simply a bad feeling or if it was anticipation.

Even so, he wondered how things would have turned out if had not killed his clan. Sasuke would have a family, as would Itachi. Would the Uchiha have taken over Konoha or would the forces of Konoha bring their best fighters and manage to topple over the most elite fight prone clan?

Would Akatsuki still be on the prowl, searching hungrily for the nine powerful beasts?

Would he himself still be alive?

Itachi thought that some of these questions were best left unanswered because when you find the answer, are you sure you should have been looking?

Because Itachi still heard the whispers.

The whispers of dead clansmen, the whisper of his brother, the whisper of his mother and father, the whisper of all his friends, the dead and the alive. They whispered to him, asking why, why he had done this, why he had become what he had become.

Why he was a monster. How such a nice person like him could change into some ones worst nightmare. Into such a ruthless, powerful, cruel, cold killer.

And it took all of Itachi's willpower to turn away and let the whispers fall on deaf ears.

And each time he heard the whispers, he was sure he felt a part of being crushed more and more.

But they needn't have bothered; Konoha had already _crushed_ him many years ago.


	13. Falling

**Disclaimer:**I do not own Naruto, Itachi, or Sasuke or anything that is inside of this story.

_Truth_

_Chapter 13 – Falling_

"_Our greatest glory is not in never __**falling**__ but in rising every time we fall__."_

When Itachi had been younger, he had always been pushed to be great. There had always been hands pressed onto his back pushing him farther.

True, he had mastered his sharingan at eight but he gained his sharingan by force. His father had forced him to gain it. He had fought Itachi and pushed him far enough to unlock his sharingan.

He didn't feel anything really when he thought back to it now but he supposed after such a long time it wouldn't have been something he would ponder on.

After all, things changed. He was no longer eight and his father was no longer alive. He was more powerful than his father had ever been.

It was almost as if he had been born one hundred meters from a cliff and the clan had pushed him right to the edge, tipping frighteningly over the seemingly never ending abyss. Though, Itachi did admit he wished he had never had to kill them and that they were still alive, no matter how unpleasant they may have been.

After all, then he wouldn't have to live with nothing but his memories.

After all, most people were simply blinded by the filth spewed forth from others mouths.

The ninja world was in the throes of a collapse with the countries powers becoming unbalanced. It could, easily, plunge the world into wars and long periods of suffering just like the other great ninja wars.

Especially with Akatsuki on the move, taking the nine beasts.

But there was nothing Itachi could do. His fate had been sealed with the blood of his ancestors since before he was born. Maybe Itachi couldn't do anything but he believed that others would.

It was a fact that he did not like fighting despite his unrelenting talents in the field itself. He had scarcely lost a battle. He had defeated many powerful ninja with ease.

It had all begun with the massacre he supposed. He had defeated Orochimaru, Hatake Kakashi, and Deidara and many more nameless ninja as he had easily been at the top of his age group with miles between him and the second best.

He had lead countless groups through countless life or death situations without losing a single member of his team as ANBU Captain.

He had completed every mission given to him whether it was an A-Rank or D-Rank.

And along the path all of his emotions had disappeared and his heart had frozen over and he had become isolated. The price for power. It wasn't even worth it.

But none of it mattered. After all, death was his goal.

As long as it was done by his brother.

He could hardly consider it as redemption because there was absolutely no way that he could ever be forgiven for what he had done.

After all, there was only so far someone could be pushed before they could never stop themselves from _falling_.

**AN**: First of all, for those of you who read Shiver, I just want to let you know that I am rewriting the last chapter because I didn't like the one I had before and the rewritten version should be up in a few days at the maximum.

Second of all, I'm really sorry for not updating for so long but I was gone on a cruise to Alaska a while back and I have been really busy this summer and there has been so much going on that I have hardly any time to write and post new chapters.

Actually, I had half of this chapter written a little while ago but I never had time to go on ahead and write the rest of this but I apologize so much. Otherwise, the weather here has been unreal like 40 degrees Celsius and we are supposed to have rainy weather here!

Anyways, thanks for reading this really long authors note.


	14. Darkness

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the anime Naruto nor do I own Itachi or whatever other characters that happen to be mentioned in this story.

_Truth_

_Chapter 14 – Darkness_

"_**Darkness**__ is only driven out with light, not more __**darkness**__.__"_

A dream forgotten was one of the least things that were ever on Itachi's mind.

When he was younger, he had been very creative. He had also had a few quirks. For one, Itachi had always been very artistic, seeing beauty in things that had no significance to other people.

He used to arrange his food to look appealing before actually eating it. He loved just sitting down outside and staring at scenery. He would look for shapes that shadows made.

But he found it harder and harder to see the elegance of nature with eyes descending slowly into darkness.

But one thing he noted was that most of his past quirks had been passed onto his younger brother.

Itachi also knew he wasn't just copying him because Sasuke had these habits long before he knew Itachi did.

He had seen the look in his brothers' eyes as he stared at the nature. In fact, Sasuke had always loved going down to the lake just to watch the fish swim around.

These were all annoying habits that his brother no longer possessed. They stopped after he left Konoha.

But then Itachi couldn't be speaking because he no longer had these traits anymore, either.

Itachi had grown up being pushed into being a ninja. All Itachi had wanted to be as a kid was someone who brought peace without fighting.

All pretences of this dream had been promptly thrown out the window the moment he was enrolled into the academy. But even as he grew and flourished, he kept his ideals, still hoping he could bring peace without fighting.

As he grew older and older, his dreams slowly dimmed and dimmed until it was completely dark.

He had always been growing up in the darkness anyways.

Forced to kill to survive.

What a sad, sad world.

After he had joined the Akatsuki, he had seen more and more of the world.

He walked through towns filled with people with no homes, no food, and no way to survive. He saw the children die. He saw the adults cry and weep. And he could not do a single thing about it.

He saw towns under barrage and saw them collapse under the weight of the aggression being pressed on them.

He saw women being taken away, the men being killed, the children either being taken, killed, or left to die.

And he mourned.

He mourned for the lives he could not save. He mourned what could be.

And then he wished he could go back in time to pursue his dream.

But his life had been written before he had even been born. Written in the blood of his ancestors. His duty being first thing and his wants becoming second to everything.

And as he walked through the shambles of what had once been a rampant village, he found himself pushing through a world of darkness. And only one thing made him keep moving on.

Sasuke was his light in this world of _darkness._


	15. Fire

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto or Itachi or Sasuke or anything else in this story. - Please read and review!

Truth

Chapter 15 

* * *

(On) Fire

_"Ignited; burning; afire: you know what they say - play with fire and you're going to get burned__."_

People stared at him as he passed by, some recognizing him but were too horrified to come out and announce it.

They were so convinced that he was evil. If only it were actually that black and white. They all had their own pristine clear cut views with no doubts. They were living in their own world, simply based on the side that they were on. They had only seen from one perspective, how could they judge what was right and wrong?

How naive.

Itachi's views of the world had changed so vastly during his time away from Konoha. It showed him how the things you thought you knew could be proved to be so wrong, so incorrect, so false.

Ninja's were assassins, nothing more - nothing less.

They say it is all so that they can maintain the peace that had settled after many years of hostility and bloodshed. If only that were believable. They murdered people and didn't bother to question what the person had done to deserve it or why. Many shinobi were illiterate and delusional under the belief that they were virtuous and morally correct.

What did it even mean to be morally correct? These were vague conceptions of a human mind.

People saw only what they wanted to, believed what they wanted to, knew only what they wanted. Humanity was simply selfishness.

If Itachi could see this with only a limited field of vision, why couldn't the whole world see it? Because no one used their eyes to actually see.

Everyone fought and fought and fought and it was all for nothing. What was the point? To live to destroy? To die for glory?

The world was ignorant.

And no one would know this better than Itachi, who had walked through a lake of fire and brimstone, seen both sides of justice, and sacrificed his life for it.

The world was filled with fire that was going to start burning the stagnant embers of war.

The world will burn. _(Just watch this go up in smoke)_

Because as they always say - and Itachi knew - you can always fight _fire_ with _fire. _

* * *

**AN: **I'm not even going to begin to apologize for not updating but I have been burned out for such a long time that I haven't been able to pick up any inspiration to continue this.

Actually the inspiration for this comes from a familiar poem that you may have heard:

_Some say the world will end in fire, _  
_Some say in ice. _  
_From what I've tasted of desire _  
_I hold with those who favor fire. _  
_But if it had to perish twice, _  
_I think I know enough of hate _  
_To say that for destruction ice _  
_Is also great _  
_And would suffice._

_-Fire and Ice by Robert Frost._

You may have caught how that symbolism ties in with this chapter and if you did, good for you. Hopefully, my writing style hasn't changed too much since the last chapter because I want this story to fit together well. Also sorry for such a small chapter, but hopefully I can get the next one up soon and it will be longer.

I would be ever grateful if you would be willing to review and tell me your opinion for this. Thanks!


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